Petrichor
by Radiohill
Summary: Student healer and magician Sage wants to fulfill her dream of finishing her training and becoming an expert in her craft. But when the healer of a mysterious band of travelers is slain at her doorstep, Sage is forced to fill the role and help find a way to stop the evil Sirius and his plans to make the land of Petrichor a place of discord and hopelessness.


Hello, readers! i wont take up much of your time, just here to say that this novel is going to be **extremely long.**

 **please keep that in mind if you choose to follow along with this story, as it will be exhausting.**

other than that, this book will be fairly mature, as it has descriptive gore, and an amount of language and _slight_ sexual themes as well. Thank you!

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It was all she could do not to retch at the scene that lay before her.

At her feet lay the broken body of a wolf; its mouth paralyzed with the beginnings of a feeble cry. Its eyes glazed over as it coughed up a clot of blood, red flecks spattering the cats paws at she stood in frozen terror. The she-wolf's chest cavity was ripped open; blood turning her white pelt scarlet as it pooled into the dust and seeped into the grass nearby. The cat tried to move; it shared the same struggle as the victim at her feet until a timber wolf shoved her aside, rushing to kneel beside his fallen comrade. If the fall hurt her, she wasn't conscious of it. All that she could see were the entrails of the canine before her letting off clouds of vapor in the autumn chill, its glassy eyes staring at a distant nothingness. She let out a shaky breath, resonant of a silent scream as the scent of death overtook her senses. The feline felt herself beginning to black out as the timber wolf turned to face her, recognizing in a panic the apprentice's cloak draped over her shoulders.

"Hey, Mage! What are you doing just standing there?! Can't you see she's dying?" Before the cat could even utter the choked start of a reply, a voice sounded behind her.

"I'm afraid it's too late. she's lost too much blood." The group that had accumulated around the fallen white wolf turned their gaze to the cat that stood paused in the doorway of the small building before them. Her long, pluming tail swept slowly across the ground as she made her way down the few shallow steps toward the wolf and her company, her amber gaze radiating calm authority. A few in the crowd instinctively stepped back out of respect as she gently set a paw on the timber wolf's shoulder. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss, warrior." Her voice was smooth and laced with understanding as she met his eyes with a level of empathy that made one think she was living through his pain as well. Slowly, she helped him to his feet before flicking her tail at a nearby villager to come to her.

"Yes Madam?"

"Please get a group of villagers together to clean up the body and take it to the closest infirmary so that it can be dressed for burial." she said in a hushed tone. The cat nodded before rushing off to find a group that could stand the sight of the mangled carcass that lay in such a pitiful state. "Sage." the she-cat said, her head turning to the still paralyzed apprentice seated on the top step in a rigid stance. Her head snapped to attention at her mentor's mention of her name, but her eyes were hollow with shock as she answered in an voice that was so quiet that even she wasn't quite sure she had said anything at all. "Please go inside and prepare lunch for a group. we have guests."

"Y-Yes, Thalia," she stuttered in a hushed voice, slowly getting up before walking inside in a trance like manner. Thalia turned once again to the timber wolf who stood with a defeated posture, his eyes staring at nothing, filled with grief. Her gaze flitted around her to notice that most of the crowd had dispersed, save for three other canines near them that were dressed in the same journeying garments that the wolf wore.

"Please, come inside." the cat said gently, letting a paw rest on the wolf's back as she started to lead him toward the entrance to the small shop. One of the others, a grey fox, hesitated with wary eyes.

"What about our mage?"

"She will be taken care of, I assure you." Thalia answered as she and the wolf reached the doorway. Still hesitant, the others followed them inside, stealing glances back at their now death-ridden healer that lay alone in the dirt.

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And that concludes chapter one! this is still a draft, of course, and will be edited later on, but for now the story of Petrichor begins. I hope you enjoyed, and I cant wait to post the next chapter!


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